Rules and Ethics of the Fuming Gate
A Clerical Order of the Hierarchy of Eternal Flame
Rules of the Order
The eight sacred rules of the Order of the Fuming Gate are:
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“It is forbidden to speak of sacred practices to those not of our order.”
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“It is forbidden to teach, write or speak Surikal, the sacred tongue, to any but the Reaper's own.”
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“It is forbidden to worship, obey, or swear fealty to anything that would countermand fealty to the Warlord of Balgashang.”
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“It is forbidden to sacrifice without combat or torture.”
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“It is forbidden to speak anything other than divine speech [e.g. oaths, warsongs, and curses] during combat.”
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“It is forbidden to not loot, pillage, ravage and torture when the opportunity and divine potent present themselves.”
These laws are imposed on priests, Terahni, and laity alike. The penalty for breaking them is generally determined by a temple's Viriahn or, if circumstnaces demand summary justice, by thethe highest-ranking priest present.
Ethics and Behavior
Proper behavior is defined by obedience and loyalty to the Warlord of Balgashang, the Order of the Fuming Gate, the Company of the Copper Hook and then to one's lord, family and self. The common litany learned is: “Reaper, Priests, Terahni; then lord, blood, and my own.”
The Commandments of War are few in number:
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Fight until no enemy stands.
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Pillage until no wealth or sport remains.
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Burn until nothing is left.
The Order does not promote any other form of ethics or protocol to guide to its members. Obedience is expected, and respect is given only to those proven in battle. The Hierarchy of the Eternal Flame is only grudgingly obeyed.
Sin and Punishment
“What, in the service of Fire, Rape and War, is a sin?" you ask? The answer: “Giving or Taking Quarter!”
—Fuming Gate Catechism
Quarter should never be given, nor taken. The best way to get to Balgashang is through death in battle. The Reasonless Reaper, the Fuming Gate believes, insists that his followers die in the same way that they live— by the mace, the sickle, the whip and the flame.
To flee from a battle, however, is the greatest sin of them all. The punishment is to face the champion of the order in ritual combat. Should the accused win the challenge, he is deemed to have been divinely commanded to have done so. Should he lose, but survive, he will be used as an instrument of instruction on the ways of torture. If he dies in combat, his soul goes straight to Ak-Syt.
